Ethics bill more timely than tax cap

So Gov. Paterson is planning an October special session to try to pass a property tax cap, and sees spending cuts as his legacy. While a property tax cup is both desirable and inevitable, it is likely to be part of the legacy of the next governor, not this one, because there is no particular reason for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to give it to Paterson when he can hold out and give it to Gov. Cuomo instead, in return for something (if only goodwill).

What is achievable this year is an ethics bill, which Silver, Paterson and about everyone else in Albany are on record as favoring, and versions of which have been floating around all year. By enacting a meaningful one legislators could provide voters with some evidence they are not corrupt or useless; and the governor would get something beyond budget cuts for his legacy.

Comments

[Brian]

The property tax cap will be an unmitigated disaster for counties and municipalities if it's not accompanied by mandate relief from the legislature. Legislators can't keep heaping mandates on lower level entities and then hamstringing their ability to raise revenue to pay for said obligations.

[Bob Conner]

I guess one theory is that a cap would lead to pressure on legislators to lift mandates.